Sugarfall
by amourdesoi
Summary: She's a bit spacey, and not too bright; not to mention her strange... quirk. Still, she considers herself to be fairly normal, and she's content with that - until a flower delivery to a Kishitani Shinra changes everything. Shizuo x OC x Izaya.
1. one

A/N: Well. I don't really have any excuse for myself, sad to say... Ah, either way, if you're reading: please enjoy, yeah?

And the 'quirk' that she has is something I kinda stole off a manga I was fervently reading, Iris Zero; if anyone's read it, then you might know what it is. If you do, my excuse is that in a world with headless female fairies and men with outrageous strength, I'm sure many other things are possible.

If not, I'll go into further detail in the next chapter... if people actually would like me to continue this. I'm not sure if the title really has anything to do with the story, but it's what I've got after listening to Britney Spears for god knows how long while writing this. (Did anyone else enjoy the HIAM video like I did? ... yeah.)

Like I said, I am ashamed of myself and have no excuse (Oops, I did it again. ...Yes I totally just did that) for starting something new. D: If it makes anyone feel better, I'll have a new chapter of AM up soon?

/shot.

I don't own Durarara.

* * *

**sugarfall**

The grumble that emanates from her stomach is incredibly loud and more than enough to collect a few stares from passerby; not that Nanase notices, because her face is too busy being plastered to a window filled with sweets and pastries. "So good..." She mumbles and grudgingly removes her face. Nanase pretends she doesn't see the drool left behind that smudges the window and shakes her fist at the display.

"One day, I'll be rich enough to buy out the whole entire store!" She exclaims quietly (or not so quietly, because people passing by are still giving her odd glances) and nods as if to confirm it to herself. Nanase smiles at the thought of that, content even though her stomach is anything but. It's not that she doesn't have enough money on her to go and treat herself to something, but she's running late to work to begin with. So she casts one last, sad look over her shoulder and walks away.

If only she could work at a bakery like that; or anywhere with food, really. However, it was probably a wise decision of such business owners to not hire Nanase, considering the fact that she would probably eat up everything in sight - which is why she works at a flower shop, which was where she was on her way to that moment.

Of course, there were other reasons - personal ones - that also had a part to play in her job searching, when she had first come to Ikebukuro. After a somewhat long and vigorous search, she'd found a job at the flower shop. The owner was up to her personal standards, so she'd accepted the job. The pay was alright, certainly nothing special, but it sufficed.

Thirty minutes later into her shift, she's twirling a lock of her dark hair, poking at a rose and wishing they were edible. It's not like she has anything better to do, anyway - her boss is snoozing away in the back, and customers were yet to be seen. A petal falls from the flower she's prodding at, and she stares at it for a good minute. Just as she's about to try and see if roses taste any good, the shrill ring of the phone pierces the air.

Nanase's hand pauses en route to her mouth, red petal pinched in between her thumb and index finger. Immediately, she drops it like she wants nothing to do with it and picks up the ringing phone. "Hello! How can I help you today?"

_"I need to make a super, super important order to be delivered!"_ The man's voice is hushed, yet still loud enough for Nanase to hold the receiver an inch away from her ear.

"I see... Any occasion? Preferences?" Nanase takes out a pad of paper and a pen, tucking the phone in between the nook of her neck and shoulder.

_"Occasion? No... no, not really! Everyday is an occasion with my honey~!" _The man says cheerily, and Nanase can't help but smile, even if no one can see it. _"And I'd like it to be red roses. A bunch of roses! So much they barely fit in one bouquet!" _A pause, _"Oh, it's no one, my honey! Don't worry!"_ The man continues, _"Actually, make that two bouquets! Two! Oh, even that might not be enough..."_

"I'm sure it'll be fine, sir." Nanase holds back the giggle in her throat. "Alright, then. Two big bouquets of red roses! And your name and address, sir?"

_"Kishitani Shinra. I live in..."_

After she's taken the man's order and hung up, she lets out a sigh. She thinks about how nice it would be to have a boyfriend like that - one who just gets flowers for their girlfriend, _just because_. The one boyfriend Nanase had when she was younger turned out to be a total pig who had cheated on her; he had denied it, but he hadn't known about her... _quirk_. The quirk that had let her see through his lies.

No, love was nothing at all how Nanase imagined when she was younger. And with the way she views the world, it sometime seems that nothing anyone said was true anymore. Therefore, as much as she wishes she could find a great guy, the task seems gargantuan.

Nevertheless, she's still happy to know that _yes, _it does exist somewhere in the world out there - the person she had just talked to was living proof of that. So Nanase just smiles to herself and heads to the back to gather the roses.

* * *

A short while later, Nanase pouts and leaves the store, two huge bouquets of roses in her arms. Really, her boss was such a bum... a kind man, but certainly lazy.

_"I've got important business to deal with, Nanase!" _Is what he had told her; and of course, as expected, there's something flicking behind him when she looks down.

_That liar_, she grumbles mentally and trudges along to wherever this Kishitani Shinra's apartment is. By now, the sun is starting to set, and she hurries her pace. She's glancing up and down at the paper with directions on it (She's pretty sure she's lost, even though the directions are written right on there) as best as she can while juggling the huge bouquets - when suddenly, they're snatched out of her hands.

"Oh, are these for us?" Nanase blinks in surprise and looks up, then gulps and backs away at the sight of a young man in front of her holding the bouquets. He looks like a troublemaker; at least, that's what his goofy attire and hair say to her. He chuckles and tosses the other bouquet over her head, where another voice comes.

"Ah, how nice!" She squeaks and wheels forward, whipping around.

"Hey, don't I get one, too?" Comes a third voice, from inside the alley she's standing outside of. _Damn you, boss...!_

"Please give those back," Nanase tries politely, hoping there's no audible tremor in her voice.

"Hmm... maybe after we're done with you, yeah?" The one she had seen first smirks and advances on her, and the third one pulls her into the alley as she lets out a squeak.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you..." He coos, but the long, tell-tale sign that screams they _will_ hurt her is right behind him. "We just want to have a little fun, is all!"

"H-hey!" She cries out, and the two holding the bouquets toss them to the side. Nanase clenches her eyes shut as she gets shoved up against the rough brick wall behind her, a hand on her mouth. By now, she's waiting for the worst to happen, and if she comes out of this in one piece, her boss is going to get an earful. She also vows to buy herself a good, stiff drink. Or two, or maybe three...

A loud, creaky door opens from the alleyway, and then:

"The hell is this?" A quiet mutter breaks the laughter of the men surrounding her.

"We're just having some fun, man," says the one on her right, "Why don't you go mind your own business?"

"Ehhh?" The quiet, deep voice is starting to get louder. "You know, I really..." A crack of someone's knuckles. "..._hate violence..._"

"Shizuo," comes a different voice, and Nanase wonders if it's even safe to open her eyes. She isn't sure she wants to see what's going on.

"S-Shizuo?" One of the punks stutters, "H-Heiwajima... Shizuo?" A circle of curses comes from all three of the thugs. "Shit, this girl ain't worth it... let's get out of here!" A flurry of running steps race out the alleyway, and Nanase finally opens her eyes.

There's a dark skinned man in a nice suit with dreads, his hand on someone's shoulder. Her eyes trail from the shoulder to his face; well, the face was certainly rather nice looking. Trailing her eyes down, she notes that he's dressed in a bartender's outfit, and there's a snapped cigarette still smoldering dimly at his feet.

Nanase can't help but look at them somewhat suspiciously; after all, one of them must have been frightening enough to scare off three men, and they're both bigger than her.

The blond must see the wary look on her face, because he tells her, "We're not going to hurt you." She looks down, behind and below his waist. There is nothing there; he's telling the truth, and she breathes a sigh of relief.

"Ah... thanks." Nanase says timidly, wiping her brow. "I was really scared for a second there... oh! The bouquets!" She exclaims in remembrance and searches the ground of the alley.

"These?" The dark skinned man bends down and scoops up a bouquet, and the blond picks up the other that's been thrown on the other side.

"Yes!" They look relatively undamaged, though a few petals flutter down onto the cement. "Thank you both, again. I really appreciate it..."

"You can thank Shizuo," The dark skinned man jerks a thumb at the taller man, who's currently lighting up a cigarette to replace the one he must've tossed. He hands her the bouquet, and she turns to the blond to take the one he's holding. "He's the one who scared them off."

"Then thank you, Shizuo-san," Nanase takes the bouquet from him and gives him an grateful smile.

"Yeah," He mumbles, and she bows to them before going back to the delivery - when she realizes she doesn't have the piece of paper with the directions on it.

"Ahh, no!" She lets out a wail and stops in her tracks, slumping. "Boss is gonna kill me..."

"Something wrong?" The dark skinned man asks as they start back out onto the street.

"Oh... kinda... okay, yeah." She sighs, "I was supposed to make a delivery, but I've lost the paper with directions on it." She must've dropped it in her surprise when she'd gotten pulled into the alley; the wind probably blew it far, far away. Nanase looks at the sky remorsefully, "All I know is that the flowers are going to a Kishitani-san..."

"Kishitani?" The blond asks, and she nods.

"Kishitani Shinra-san." She pauses. "Oh, he's probably gonna kill me, too!"

"That's your friend, right?" The man with dreads looks towards the blond, who nods.

"You can help me, Shizuo-san?" Nanase looks at him hopefully. He doesn't respond at first, and he seems hesitant to assist her.

"That was the last person for the day anyway, Shizuo. Go ahead," The dreadlocked man tells him.

"Tom-san-"

"See you later, then." The man ignores him, pats him on the shoulder, and leaves the two of them alone.

The blond grumbles for a moment before glancing at her over his shoulder. "Come on, then." He starts walking onto the street, and Nanase rushes to keep up with him.

"Ah, Shizuo-san, you don't have to take me there if you don't want to," Nanase looks down at the bundle of roses in her arms, "Directions would be fine..." Really, she'd get lost even worse with verbal directions, but he's already helped her out once tonight. Nanase knows she'll feel guilty if she's keeping him from any engagements.

"It's fine, I guess. I don't have anything else to do, anyways." She peeks down towards his backside a bit awkwardly, hoping he doesn't notice her looking - nothing there. He's telling the truth, again.

"Well, okay... Ah, I'm Nanase, by the way." Still walking side by side, she fumbles a hand out to try and shake his in introduction. He glances at her again before giving her hand a quick, light shake. Satisfied, she brings her attention back to studying the flowers with feigned interest and smiles.

Because in this city, it's hard to find someone who tells the truth; and though she's known him the grand total of less than five minutes, he has yet to tell her a lie.

* * *

If Tom wasn't such a good friend to him, Shizuo might kill him. He doesn't really feel like showing this girl all the way to Shinra's, but he'd sort of been trapped into it. He feels a little guilty at the last thought - this was a task that wouldn't take up too much of his time, really.

Shizuo supposes that no one would try to harass her if he was with her, anyway. She seemed to be nice enough - though incredibly helpless, like every other girl he'd met. Minus Celty, of course; but he's not sure whether to entirely classify her under _normal female_. He's sort of surprised that she's willing to walk with him by herself, though, considering his reputation.

"I just moved here," The girl begins out of nowhere, which indirectly answers his question. "So I'm not that familiar with things... yet." She chuckles sheepishly.

He just grunts in reply and continues puffing on his cigarette.

"Do you know the city well, Shizuo-san?"

"I've lived here my whole life, so I'd say so." An awkward silence falls over the two until she breaks it again.

"Are you... are you sure you don't mind taking me there, Shizuo-san?"

He hesitates again, but he finds that he really doesn't. He'd be able to pay the two of them a visit, anyway. "It's fine. I already said that, didn't I?" Though, he is starting to feel a bit annoyed at the fact she's asked him that twice. He glances at her again - and is she looking where he _thinks _she's looking?

Sure enough, it seems like Nanase is staring intently at his behind, and he looks away quickly. Whether it's to spare her or himself of embarassment, he isn't quite sure. "Well, if you say so, Shizuo-san!" She says cheerily.

"... Yeah."

Twenty minutes later, they're going up the elevator to Shinra's apartment. Shizuo's still trying to figure out why she was looking at his rear end, and keeps throwing her wary, furtive glances. She doesn't seem to notice this, though, and continues to look ahead, flowers still tightly held in her arms.

Finally, they get up to his door, and Shizuo knocks loudly. The door opens, revealing Shinra's familiar face; he smiles once he sees Shizuo, then his eyes go to the large bouquets in Nanase's arms.

"Ah, the flowers! They don't nearly match up to my honey's beauty, but they're still wonderful!" He exclaims and waves them in. "You can just set those on the table for now. I'll go get the payment..."

Nanase does as he says, and Shizuo silently studies her before Shinra comes back out, money in hand. "Here you go! The price and then some for the delivery." He pauses and cocks his head, looking from Nanase to Shizuo.

"Do you two know each other? Ah! Shizuo! Don't tell me, you've got a girlfriend?" Shinra grins widely, and Shizuo can feel a vein pulsing in his forehead.

"Girlfriend?" Nanase blinks and points to herself in surprise. "We're-"

"I'm hurt you didn't tell me! How rude, after we've been friends for so-" Shinra notices the fierce glare he's receiving from over the girl's head and chuckles nervously. "Ah hah... right."

"Shizuo-san just helped me out with something, that's all!" Nanase exclaims, scratching her head. "Well, I'd better get back to work. Time is money, after all!" She starts for the door, "Thanks again, Shizuo-san. You really saved me back there, haha... And Kishitani-san, I hope she likes the flowers!"

The door closes quietly. "So where's Celty?" Shizuo asks Shinra, who's now searching for a vase to put the flowers in.

"She got called for a job. It's okay, though! She'll come back and I'll have these lovely flowers ready for her!" He swoons, and Shizuo resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"Right."

"So what did you help that girl out with, anyway?" Shinra asks, still rummaging around in the cabinets.

"Scared off some thugs that were bothering her. Then found out she was delivering flowers to you, and-"

"How chivalrous of you!" Shinra cuts him off, finally grabbing a big vase out of a cabinet. "Maybe this could be the start of something beautiful!"

Shizuo stares at the doctor and tries to calm himself. Even though he's one of Shizuo's oldest friends, his love babble never ceased to annoy him - Shizuo's grateful the doctor hadn't seen the girl staring at his butt, or else he'd get more stupid ideas.

"Shut up, Shinra." He sighs and turns to leave. "I'm leaving. See you." He grumbles out, and Shinra gives him a goodbye as he heads for the door.

Besides, the city was huge - he highly doubts he'll ever meet that girl again. But when he opens the door, Nanase's right outside, hand poised to knock.

"Ahah... I got downstairs and realized I didn't know how to get back..." She tells him sheepishly, pale gray eyes looking up at him hopefully.

Or not.

* * *

A/N: ... I hope whoever's reading this liked it? And is possibly interested in reading more? I know I've only hinted at the 'quirk', but like I said, further detail will come later. Also, I feel like I write Shinra the exact same way in every single story he's in...

Please review, and let me know people are reading this. I'd like to know if everyone's IC or not, which is one of my biggest worries when I write. It helps me know that it isn't a piece of crud and that I'm not too crazy. Reviews are really the only reason I'd bother writing this and posting. Thanks.

Review! Pretty please? ... :D


	2. two

A/N: Oh my gosh, people are reading! /sniffle. A big thanks tooo...

**cookie2178**: He's mine, too... as you can probably tell. :D; And don't worry, I abuse exclamation points all the time!

**Kim**: I'm glad you think so!

**KizunaCho**: Yeah, she's sort of a ditz~ And definitely tell me if you were right in guessing her quirk, I'm curious! :)

**TheMostObviousPlace**: I'm happy you like it so far!

**KkarolBoss**: I'll try my best! I try to stay away from long physical descriptions; I'm scared that it'll turn people off if I get too into the description itself, but I'll definitely try to add in more things about her appearance!

**Sepsis**: Oh my gosh, thanks for reading and reviewing like, all of my stories! Makes me so happy~~ I'm happy to hear that you like Nanase so far! And yeah, I don't think she'd be able to find her way out of a wet paper bag... :)

**DreamWalker18**: You too are another one that always reads and reviews my stories, so mucho gracias! I haven't actually taken down HS yet... even after I posted the notice, people are still adding it to their favorites and alerts, and tell me how much they love it... so now I'm torn as to whether I should rewrite it or just bite the bullet and finish. And I adore him too! ... obviously. :D

I hope you guys like this chapter, in which you'll get to read about why exactly Nanase stares at people's butts. ... :D Yup. I'll go over it later for any grammatical errors, too lazy to do so now...

I don't own Durarara~

* * *

**chapter two**

_Ring ring ring ring ring ring._

Nanase's eyes flutter open; once, twice - before she shoves her head under the pillow, mumbling sleepy nonsense. "Mmm, apples... ah, squirrel cake...? Eww..."

_Ring ring ring ring ring ring._

The noise proceeds to wake her up just a tad more, though not nearly enough. "Why's... so loud..."

_Ring ring ring ring ring ring-_

Her mind falls back into sleep mode once the annoying, incessant sound halts. "S'better..."

_-ring ring ring ring ring ring..._

"Gahhh!" Nanase yells miserably, throwing the pillow off to the side of the room before looking around for the source of her wake-up call. It takes all of three minutes and more ringing for Nanase to realize that it's her phone, which has been sitting next to her the whole time. She yawns leisurely, one hand rubbing her eyes and the other picking it up. Her eyes blearily scan the caller ID.

"Oh, no!" The sleep is immediately gone from her body, gray eyes wide as she stares with horror at the name of the caller. Hesitantly, and maybe with a bit of fear, she slowly flips the phone open and holds it up to her ear with a gulp.

"H-Hello...?"

_"Nanaaaseee! What are you doing? Where are you? Don't you know-!" _

"I'm sorry, boss! So sorry! Sorrysorrysorry!" She groans, already starting to dig around for clothes around her room. She grabs a pair of plain, tan capris and starts on looking for a shirt. "I'll be there as soon as possible!"

_"-bouquets aren't going to make themselves, you know! I swear, I don't know why I hired you sometimes! I barely have the money to pay you-"_

"I'm sorry! Super sorry!" Nanase wails one last time into the phone before closing it and successfully grabbing a white tee shirt. "Oh... oh, gotta hurry! Hurry!" She chants to herself and begins the search for socks and shoes.

She grabs two socks from her drawer without looking, putting them on while hurriedly hopping to the bathroom. She brushes her teeth in a frenzy and attempts to brush her hair - but the bed head is too strong for Nanase's brush, so she just grabs a hair tie and throws it into a bun on top of her head. As she's finishing the last loop of her hair tie, she sprints to her kitchen table and grabs her keys.

"Ah! Phone!" She cries and runs back into her bedroom, and spends another two minutes looking for it even though she just had it in her hand. Once it's been thrown into her back pocket, she grabs her messenger bag and tugs on her scuffed, not-so-white-anymore trainers and leaves.

Nanase's running like her life depends on it towards the flower shop, and people stare past themselves at the blur that just whipped by. As she nears the store, she slows down and catches a glimpse of herself in the reflection of one of the windows.

There's loose wisps of hair escaping the already messy bun, and a section of her bangs is practically sticking straight up. She gives a futile attempt at patting it down, but to no avail. The teeshirt is loose and makes her look something like a little kid wearing clothes a size too big. Nanase looks down to see that one of the legs of her capris is hanging loosely around her calf while the other is tied securely around her knee. Her socks don't even match - one is a light, striped blue and the other's a bright neon pink.

All in all, Nanase is pretty sure she's what people would call a "hot mess."

With no success, she tries to pat down her hair one last time before she spins around like a tornado and continues her race to work - when she bumps into something tall and sturdy and she tumbles back with an ungraceful squawk.

"Eh? Oh, it's you again." Someone tells her as Nanase picks herself up hastily, hand rubbing her butt woefully. "You should probably watch where you're going," The deep voice announces from above her.

"Well, you should... _you _should watch where _you're _standing! Yeah!" Nanase cries out in a rather lame manner that lacks any sort of venom. When she brings her eyes up to see who it is, she scratches her cheek awkwardly with her index finger. "Oh, Shizuo-san... good morning."

He regards her silently. "I think it's afternoon now."

"Oh ho! I knew that! I was just, you know, making sure _you_ knew it was noon!" Nanase tells him, laughing nervously. "And you did! Congratulations!"

He just stands there and looks at her coolly, cigarette held loosely between his lips - when she realizes what she said.

"A-afternoon..." A look of sudden terror plasters itself on her face, complete with wide eyes and hands slapping onto her cheeks. "Ohhh, boss is really gonna kill me this time!" As if on cue, her phone begins to ring again. "I gotta go, Shizuo-san! Bye bye!" She calls out quickly, already leaving a trail of figurative dust in her wake.

Shizuo blinks at the spot where the girl (Kaname? Ayase?) was standing and continues on his way to meet up with Tom.

* * *

"Nanase! This is the third time this week you've been late! What am I paying you for?" Her boss yells, then sighs when he sees her teary eyes. "I'll let this slide this time, Nanase, but next time..."

"I got it, boss! I won't ever be late again! Never ever!" She swears gratefully, throwing her arms around her short, chubby boss until he's choking for air.

He gives her a reluctant pat on the back before trying to pry her off. "G-get off of me! Jeez... go watch the front! I have important business to tend to." He dusts himself off, then walks towards the back.

"Sure, boss!" Nanase says cheerfully, but she knows he's lying. It's evident from the devil's tail extending from his backside; the dark, lazily swinging tail that she sees on anyone who makes an untruthful statement. Of course, this doesn't necessarily take her aback. She's used to it, has been ever since she realized what seeing that meant.

She can still remember in bits and pieces how she had discovered what it meant. Nanase had only been five years old at the time. She remembers watching her parents argue heatedly, her father angrily stomping out the door with a suitcase in hand.

_"Where's daddy going?" _was what she had asked her weeping mother, tugging on her dress. _"He'll be back for dinner, right? He's going to be hungry if he doesn't..."_

_"He'll come back. He'll come back, and everything will be okay, alright?" _her mother had replied, giving her a teary smile and a pat on the head.

With that, her mother had walked back into the kitchen, a tail swinging behind her. Nanase had seen the tail on people before, mostly adults and some of the other children she went to school with - but she was still clueless as to what it symbolized. It was only when her father did not come back for dinner, or the day after that, or the day after that - that was when she had put the pieces together.

She had brought it up to her mother once, but her mother had assumed it just meant Nanase had a wild imagination, and wrote it off as such. When Nanase kept at it, using the example of her father and her mother's words, she just figured she was intuitive and ushered her off to go play.

As Nanase got older, and as she realized how many people lied and how often - she swore to herself that didn't want any friends like that. She wanted friends that didn't give her trivial compliments, only to see that they didn't mean it at all - nor did she want to be invited to places because she was _fun_ - when people didn't think that at all.

School life had been rather lonely for her. The higher up in school she went, the stronger her label as a quiet outcast became. She never told anyone about the strange things she saw; she feared it would put her at even more of a distance between herself and others. And people could be cruel - Nanase didn't exactly want to set herself up as a target for bullying because people thought she was weird or nuts.

To this day, her mother still never believed her; that had only cemented her will to keep it a secret. After all, if her own mother didn't believe her - who would? Her mother just simply believed she was talented at seeing through people. Which is why when Nanase had told her to accept a marriage proposal from her longtime boyfriend of five years, she did.

Even if Nanase's mother didn't believe that she saw devil tails growing out of people's backsides, she still took her words seriously when she had told her mother that he was a good man and had never once lied to her. So she supposed she couldn't really hate the strange ability she had, since it had been able to help her mother make the decision for a worthy man - it may have distanced her from other people, but she had always reminded herself that it was her decision to have it be like that.

And though her boss got angry at her a lot, and he lied about things - they were trivial, harmless things, such as excuses for taking a nap in the backroom. She's pretty sure she's on the teetering line of being fired, however, so she stops reminiscing and begins to organize the front.

* * *

"Only a few more to go till break time, Shizuo. Sushi sounds good..." Tom muses as they walk down the sidewalk. Shizuo just nods.

About an hour after they've collected some money and Shizuo has thrown a couple people around, they're standing in front of the next place on the list. It's a tiny little flower shop, and it looks like it probably does little to no business.

When they go inside, the only person in sight is the sloppy-looking girl (Chitose? Nanami?) from earlier, on top of a ladder. She has a rather intense look on her face as she waters some hanging plants while simultaneously bopping her head to some music. The music is so loud that even they can hear a faint hum coming from her ear buds, something that sounds generic and poppy.

"Excuse me, miss?" Tom tries to get her attention with little success, since she starts humming and turns her back to them to water another plant hanging from the ceiling. "... Miss?"

Shizuo sighs and strides up to the ladder, since Tom's attempts to garner her attention obviously aren't working. He taps her on the back with a loud, "Oi."

She nearly jumps into the ceiling with a squeak, and her foot slips on the ladder in her surprise. Her arms flail wildly as she teeters on the rung, and gravity takes its course as she falls backwards. In a strange endeavor to not topple to the ground and possibly break her neck, she tries to hook her legs around the rung - and in retrospect, she probably would've smacked her brains out of her head on the ladder if Shizuo didn't catch her upper body.

The girl blinks up at him and gives a, "Ah, Shizuo-san! Are you here to buy some flowers?" as if she wasn't about to fall off any ladder. She's still got her legs curled around the step of the ladder, Shizuo's hands underneath her arms being the only thing holding her up.

"No," comes his reply as Tom clears his throat from the side, "Need to talk to your boss." He holds back a sigh as he helps her untangle her legs from the ladder and sets her down on the floor.

"Thanks for catching me there, Shizuo-san! It probably wouldn't have been good, huh?"

"Yeah. So where's your boss?"

"Boss?" She blinks at him again, "Oh, right! Sure, hold on a second!" She scurries off into the back, and Tom and Shizuo head to the counter. There's loud snores emanating from the back room, among the girl's feeble calls of, _"Boss? Boss?"_

_"Nanase!" _(Ah, that's it.)_ "I told you I was doing important work back here!"_

_"But... boss, you were sleeping."_

_"I was meditating, Nanase! On the correct business decisions to make - it's very important! Important business, you see? You should try it sometime." _her boss huffs.

_"Meditating?" _A small sigh from her. _"Sure, boss.__ Oh! There's two men that would like to talk to you, boss."_

_"Eh?" _They see a bald, shiny head peek out from the doorway before it quickly whips back into the room. _"N-Nanase! Tell them I'm not here! Go, go!" _

_"But... boss... I told them I'd go get you. ...Oops?"_

They hear a series of grumbles, and then the man comes out. He looks extremely nervous, wiping his brow of any sweat that's probably accumulating. "H-Hello... Anything I could help you gentlemen with today?"

Tom leans an elbow on the counter, ignoring his question. "The correct business decision would be to pay us back."

"Oh! Well, you see... about that..." He scratches his nonexistent hair. "I don't have it. Tough times at home, you know? Things are so expensive these days, and the shop isn't doing too well."

Nanase emerges from the back, watching the exchange curiously. Shizuo idly wonders if she'll try to get a good look at his rear again-

"Wife's been diagnosed with cancer, you see... Have to pay for my daughter's tuition..."

-but he notices that instead of staring at Shizuo's rear end, she's looking at her boss's with a furrowed brow.

"... really quite terrible, I love my wife so much! The illness is wearing down the whole family..." The man even goes as far as to wipe his eyes and sniffle.

Tom shares a glance with Shizuo, as if asking what he thinks they should do (or maybe he's just trying to determine if Shizuo's going to rip him a new one), when Nanase quietly speaks up.

Her hands are fisted in the fabric of her loose white tee, and she stares at the ground. Quietly, she says, "Boss... you really shouldn't lie. Illness isn't something to throw around..."

"W-who says I'm lying?" He splutters and turns to Nanase, who almost looks like she wants to disappear into the ground. "How would you know if I had a family or not? And how they're doing? You just work here!"

"I... I just know," Nanase says timidly, backing away a bit.

"Well, I have a family! They're not doing good, either!" Shizuo, despite the annoyance he can feel bubbling up at the manager's excuses, notices that her eyes lift from the ground to stare below the man's torso again, then drops her eyes back down and turns her head away.

Tom looks between the two of them, then speaks to Nanase. "Is he lying to us, miss?" He looks back to the sweating man in front of him. "Because we," He gestures to himself and Shizuo, "Don't appreciate being lied to."

The boss gives her a threatening look, and Nanase's bottom lip wavers unsurely before she looks at Tom. "... Y-yes."

"N-Nanase-!"

"I'm sorry, boss!" She turns to him quickly, black hair falling out of her bun at the fast movement. "B-but... that isn't something to joke about..." Her eyes turn a bit steely; not so much that she's intimidating, but enough so that Shizuo can see resolve reflected in her gray eyes. "There's people that really have sick families, you know? So... you shouldn't lie. Especially about something so serious..." She finishes with a gulp.

Tom gives Shizuo another look. "If you're not telling us the truth, tell us now. Maybe we'll give you an extra week," he sighs tiredly.

The boss looks from Nanase to Shizuo to Tom, and then: "... okay, perhaps I was fabricating some things... do I get the extra week still?"

Tom just looks at him with a dry look. "Nope."

An angry look comes across the chubby man's face, and he fumes silently for a good thirty seconds before he turns to Nanase. "You... you...! You're _fired_!"

"B-but-" She quivers, lips wobbling, "Boss...!"

"No buts! I don't know how you knew, unless you're stalking me- And I don't want to employ a rat _or_ a stalker! Out! Ouuut!" He yells at Nanase, and she just hangs her head in defeat and heads in the back. "And you two..." He looks at them with a pathetic look that greatly differs from the red-faced one he gave the girl. "Please give me another week! Please! I'll give you what's in the register, and I'll have the rest next week!"

Tom sighs for what feels like the fiftieth time that day before rubbing his forehead. "Fine, fine. But we'll be back next week, so you better have it... or things might get _unpleasant_."

The man's eyes look at Shizuo with poorly hidden fear, and he just nods. Nanase comes out of the back with a messenger bag slung around her body, looking rather downtrodden as she makes her way to the exit.

Shizuo and Tom follow shortly after, and they can see her figure slowly weaving in and out of the crowds with her head hanging low, even as she disappears from view.

Tom pushes up his glasses. "Well, I'm definitely ready for something to eat. Maybe Simon has specials today," He says, even though they both know Simon has specials everyday. Shizuo just nods, and the pair make their way to Russia Sushi.

"Shizuo?" His friend scratches his dreads awkwardly. "Do you think it was our fault she got fired?"

"... She didn't have to speak up," Shizuo tells him, in hopes that his words will alleviate the guilty tone lying in Tom's voice.

She didn't have to, but she did - she did the right thing, Shizuo thinks, even though it cost her a job. At that thought, even he starts to feel a tad guilty. He knows how terrible it feels to be fired, though the reasons he had gotten fired from his previous jobs differed greatly from hers.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Ahh, good thing you're here, Shizuo!" Tom pats him on the shoulder and starts up a conversation, and he momentarily forgets about the girl as they go on their way.

* * *

A/N: So... hopefully you guys liked the chapter! And hopefully she doesn't seem too... Mary Sue-ish because of her little ability? In my defense, like I said last chapter: There's guys with crazy, inhuman strength, headless women, horses that turn into motorbikes...

Uhm~ Please please please let me know what you thought, because this is kinda different from my other OCs? :x I've never really done anyone that's got some weird ability... ( AM doesn't count, she just has mental problems. :D! )

So yeah, please review and tell me what you thought. I love love loooove hearing from you guys! Hope everyone seemed IC, as well.

Thanks for reading!


	3. three

A/N: Ahhh! Thanks for all the kind reviews! Ah, and just to clarify some things: It's not so much she has to look at people's derrieres, than it was trying to hint at what her ability was. :D If she were to look at someone as a whole, it'd still be noticeable. Although I'm sure the way I wrote it was confusing, so I'm sorry! Haha..

**Mako**: Yeah, I think Shizuo has more than enough strength for everyone in Ikebukuro~

**cookie2178**: I'm glad you like it, no problem! :) Kinda sad there's no more chapters available right now, though...

**DreamWalker18**: Thanks, I'm glad you like Nanase! And if you were wondering maybe why her name is so similar to Nana's, (Maybe you weren't, but I'm just gonna say why anyway :D!) it's because I _was_ planning on making this the remake for HS... which, obviously, didn't work out. Haha...

**Sepsis**: Whew, thanks for releving my worries about possible Mary Sue syndrome. I try to avoid that like the plague!

**PhoenixRage92**: Eh heh, yeah~ though like I said above, it's not that she really ahs to stare at people's asses or anything... just trying to put an emphasis on things was all, don't mind me! :D

**HappyGoLucky21**: You too! Thanks for easing my mind about the Mary Sue thing. Much appreciated!

**candychan**: Yeah, 'cause if you think about it, I'm sure no one would willingly want to surround themselves with liars, etc. :)

**minako**: Your prayers have been answered~

Thanks again for the reviews! I thrive off of them... but anyways. New chapter, I feel kinda 'eh' about it; I feel like there's a lot of cliches in here. I'll go over it later to fix any grammatical errors, so just ignore them for now. :x Either way, please enjoy!

* * *

**chapter three**

Nanase makes her way through the afternoon crowds, not really heading for any specific destination. The city is in full swing at this time; people are chattering on their cell phones, some to their companions; Nanase sees tails on half of them, maybe more.

She can't help but berate herself for speaking up in the flower shop, but she knows there was no helping it. Up until then, her boss had only lied about silly, pointless things - but when she had seen that he was lying about serious things that people all over the world suffered from, it had escaped her mouth more so than she had let herself intentionally speak. And when she had been asked if her boss was lying - how could she not tell the truth?

Nanase supposes it is because of the honesty she has ingrained inside of herself so many years ago, the policy of honesty she decided she would uphold when no one else would. It was something that she took personally, and then there was the fact that she couldn't tell a lie, when she herself thought so wrongly of it. So, of course, she had told the truth.

Maybe, she thinks, maybe she should have kept quiet for once - now she was out of a job, and it wasn't exactly an experience she wanted to run through again. She sighs miserably and tugs the hair tie out of her hair, massaging her scalp tiredly as she walked. It's probably still something that looks like a rat's nest, but she isn't in the mood to care about appearances. Her stomach grumbles, reminding her she has yet to eat; she had been in such a rush earlier she hadn't given it any thought.

Her head lifts to stare at the shops surrounding her, scoping out a place to eat. As she's walking, a deep, baritone voice addresses her.

"You eat sushi? Today is half off day! Good day for sushi, miss." She turns around and has to crane her head way up to see eye to eye with a huge dark skinned man in a sushi chef outfit. He hands her a flyer, smiling in a gentle manner.

As bad as she's feeling, she can't help but return it, almost against her will. "Sushi?" She echoes, then looks at the flyer.

"Very good, very fresh. No regrets from our sushi." She almost wants to chuckle at his accent, but refrains and looks up from the flyer.

"Fresh sushi, you say? Makes you happy?"

"Very happy!" He's telling the truth, or at least what he himself believes is the truth. One thing she has learned about her ability over the years was that if people thought something to be true, that was how it would come out. If someone truly believed that, say, the sky was green, and told her such - it would come out as the truth. She gives a nod and another smile to the man.

"Have you got any sake in there? Or anything of the sort, really..." Nanase isn't one to drink, and never has been. But she's still feeling sorry for herself, friendly smiles exchanged or not; she figures it won't hurt to get fantastically drunk and worry about her lack of employment in the morning. Drinking doesn't go against her honesty policy at least, and she doesn't make a habit of it anyway.

"Yes, yes. Best sake in Ikebukuro," The man assures her, then pauses before asking his next question. "You old enough for sake, correct?"

"I'm twenty two..." She sighs again, and wonders if she'll ever actually look her age. Probably not for a long time coming, but the man seems to take her word for it and claps a massive hand on her shoulder.

"Come! You eat good sushi and drink good sake. Make you happy." He leads her into the shop, to a stool at the counter. The whole shop is pretty crowded, to which she guesses the reason why is it's lunchtime and cheap food. After she settles down, he gives her a, "Enjoy good sushi, miss," then heads back outside, bending down to make his way under the entrance.

What a big guy, she thinks, then turns her attention to a caucasian man behind the counter. "I'll just take whatever's cheapest... and, um... lots of sake!"

* * *

_Slightly _delayed because of some punks that either **a**.) wanted to fight Shizuo, and **b**.) normal people that bumped into Shizuo and yelled at him, they finally reach Russia Sushi. As usual, Simon is out front waving flyers like miniature flags of victory.

"Ah! Shizuo! Tom! You come to eat sushi, yes? Half off day today." The man greets them cheerily, to which they simply nod. "Ah, you go ahead then. Eat half off sushi, be happy."

He ushers them in through the entrance, not bothering to seat them. They've been there so many times, it's not like he really has to anymore. They scan the restaurant, but the only open seats are at the counter, so that's where they head to. The two stools are right next to a small figure leaning their head into her palm, facing the other way.

There aren't any other seats, so they just take the two open. Shizuo ends up sitting next to the hunched over figure, who slams down a saucer on the counter and lifts her head.

"D-Denis-san... right? Denis-san?" The girl next to him croaks, "More sake... please." She smiles drunkenly as Denis comes over and fulfills her wish, eying her a bit cautiously. As Denis turns his attention to Shizuo and Tom and takes down their orders, she pours more into the saucer and tosses it back with a disgusted looking face.

Rather drunkenly, her head wobbles and tilts to see who's sitting next to her. "Ohhh?" Nanase smiles lopsidedly and gives a poke to the tall blond man who's almost shoulder to shoulder with her. "It's Shizuo-san!"

At the call of his name, he turns his head to see the flower shop girl (Nanase, he reminds himself) lift her hand to poke him again. "Ah, it's you." He takes his glasses off and folds them onto his vest before taking a glass of water into his hand. Tom looks over as well, peering curiously at the girl they just witnessed get fired an hour ago.

"You know..." The girl starts, hiccuping and ignoring how some of the sake spills out onto the counter, "I think the man out front was right!" Another hiccup. "Sushi make you happy!" She imitates in Simon's overly deep voice and strange accent. Then a pondering look comes over her face, and she gazes into her cup curiously. "Maybe it's the... sake?"

Tom and Shizuo both exchange a look at the drunken girl, who simply shrugs and drinks some more of it despite the vile expression that appears afterwards.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" Shizuo asks her dryly.

"Gah! Ev'ryone... asks me that..." Nanase frowns, a dejected expression on her face that quickly disappears. "S'okay... I'll turn into a beautiful, _hic_, mature woman one day!"

They both get the general impression the last statement was spoken to herself, but they turn their attention to the food that Denis lays out in front of them. "Eh, Shizuo..." Tom starts, poking at his sushi before taking hold of a piece, "Do you think it's our..."

"She chose to get drunk, Tom-san," Shizuo replies, and begins to eat as well.

Although, maybe they shouldn't have put her on the spot like that; but he reminds himself again that she had spoken up first. Thankfully, the girl starts babbling to the person on her other side about nonsense, and they eat in peace. Mostly, at least, until the man hastily finishes his sushi and leaves; probably because of her banter about some experiment she never got to test out about rose petals and their taste.

They're almost done their meal when the girl pokes Shizuo again. "Shizuo-saaan?" She slurs, and he tries to reign in his irritation from being interrupted from eating as he grunts. "You know..." A moment of silence passes before she speaks again. "Boss... he really was lying." Nanase sounds sober for a split second before the tone of sobriety disappears as quickly as it came. "It wasn't, _hic_, right, you know?" She cries, lifting the cup to her lips again.

"... No, it wasn't." He tells her, returning to his food. Unfortunately, the girl has other plans in mind.

"Liars like that... _hic,_ are the worst!" She sniffs. "And, you know, now I don't, you know... have a job. You know?" Nanase murmurs.

"Not done yet, Shizuo?" Tom asks from his side, and Shizuo stills his hand before he snaps his chopsticks.

"I keep missing the chance to finish, Tom-san." He mutters, giving the girl a somewhat scornful side glance.

He finds that he can't really be too scornful, though, as the sight of the girl. She's mumbling something or other and dutifully pouring another cup full of sake that spills over the sides again. Her hair's just as messy looking as it was earlier, pieces of her bun and bang in disarray. Pale gray eyes are half lidded from too much alcohol, and she hiccups again before frowning. She slumps over the bar, waving for Denis.

"More, please!"

"I think you've had enough, miss." Denis tells her, and she frowns.

"But... but..." She turns to Shizuo, poking him once more as he shoots her a sulky look. "Shizuo-san! Tell him I'm, _hic, _fine!"

No, he can't really get too annoyed with her when she looks as pathetic as she does, wobbling dangerously on the stool - which she nearly falls off of at the end of her sentence, and Shizuo sighs and places a hand on her back to prevent her from falling.

"You know her?" Denis directs towards him, and he removes his hand to rub tiredly at his forehead.

"... Sort of."

"Maybe you should help her out of here," Denis tells him, then turns to Nanase. "Sorry, miss. Please come again." With that, he walks away as Nanase wails after him.

"Will you be alright to go home?" Tom asks her, getting up from his seat and looking at the girl with a raised brow.

"Y-yes... I'll be just fine! ... _hic._" She stares into her empty sake cup, and Shizuo takes the opportunity to finish off his food before she starts poking him again.

Nanase takes a few minutes to find her money and put it on the countertop, then slides off of her seat and sways to the entrance. Tom and Shizuo follow suit, right behind her - and then she trips over her own feet and slams into Tom.

Tom steadies her and sighs as she gives him an apology comprised of gibberish. "Hey, Shizuo."

"... Yeah?" He asks, not without some suspicion as he lights up a fresh cigarette. He has the feeling he won't like what Tom has to say.

"Think you can handle taking her back to... wherever she came from?" He points to Nanase, who's now giggling to herself, slumped against Tom's legs as they both stare down at her.

"..."

A few minutes later, they're off; all the while, Nanase's babbling things he doesn't bother to discern. What kind of girl gets drunk in the middle of the afternoon? Shizuo asks himself, but the answer's currently slouching on him.

"S-Shizuo-saaan!" Nanase leans over the blond's back and rests her chin on his shoulder, arms looping loosely around his neck as she pokes him in the chest.

"Aren't you ever quiet?" Shizuo grumbles. "And stop doing that."

Nanase either chooses to ignore his question or just isn't listening. "Shizuo-san, how did you get so strong? _'_Cause, you know, _hic_, I ate a whole lot back there... and then I drank a whooole lot of s-sake... that's bound to make me heavier!" She frowns. "But Shizuo-san can still carry me! Which is good, because then I'd probably have to roll myself home..."

"Just be glad I'm doing this. Which way?"

"Left! ... or maybe right? No, no! Definitely left!" She swerves her arm in accordance to her words, nearly smacking Shizuo in the nose in the process.

"You sure?" Shizuo attempts to reign in the irritation that's been creeping up on him ever since he sat down in Russia Sushi, though it's getting difficult to do - and then she lets out a squeak. "What?"

"Shizuo-san, m-my legs..." Nanase stammers out, and he realizes his grip tightened in his annoyance, and he loosens the hold on her.

"Sorry."

"I-it's okay..."

Nanase is glad that he can't see her face. She could probably pass off the blush as an effect she got from the alcohol, but she cannot deny to herself the real reason her face looks like a tomato. The way his hands were squeezing her thighs made her all too aware of ... well, his hands on her thighs. Hands that her inebriated mind was now processing as big, strong, manly-

"Now where?"

Her face reddens even more at his voice, and she swallows and looks around before pointing to the right. The next few minutes are completely silent besides him asking her where to turn next - most likely because Nanase's busy staring at his profile from his shoulder. Maybe it's the alcohol_, maybe_; but she's starting to think that he's rather nice to look at, even if he didn't seem to be the most social person ever.

"Are we close?"

"Yeah, a few more, _hic_, minutes... on the right side of the street." Nanase mumbles, still absorbed in staring at him as he grunts.

More silence, then: "Shizuo-san?"

"What?" Are they there yet? He's sure if he has to put up with her inane chatter he'll snap-

"Shizuo-san is cute." She whispers, slurring into his ear. Besides what she just said, her warm breath in his ear tickles him in an uncomfortably comfortable way.

"And you're drunk." The sooner he dropped her off, the better. He's sure she doesn't even know what she's saying, and sighs again.

"Eh? Did I offend you, _hic_, Shizuo-san?" She questions into his ear again, and he leans his head to the other side.

"No. Just be quiet, alright?"

"Shizuo-san... meanie..."

Thankfully, she listens to him after that, and silence comes over them once more. Finally, he reaches an apartment complex. "Is this it?"

No answer. He shakes her a bit, and her head lolls around on his shoulder. "... Nanase-san?" Still no answer. A soft snore is the only answer she gives him, and he grits his teeth and stares up at the sky. "So annoying."

Shizuo kneels down, and she begins to slide off his back, still snoring. He turns and steadies her sleeping body, giving her a firmer shake.

"Wah! What ... what? Are we there, Shizuo-san?" She blinks at him the way only drunk people can blink, with one eye closing after the other.

"Why don't you tell me?" He's very tempted to slap his head in exasperation, but she peers up at the building in front of them.

"Yeah! Wow, Shizuo-san, how did you know where I live?" Gray eyes look up at him with amazement. "Do you know weird things, too?"

Was she serious? And what the hell was she talking about? Either way, he brushes it off as the alcohol talking (yet again). "You told me. Remember?" He gets no reply except for her eyes gazing up at him in drunken wonder. "... Guess not. What number?"

She does the drunk blink again before pointing at the building. "Three fourteen!"

Of course, her apartment has to be all the way on the top floor. It figures. "Alright. Get on." He turns so his back faces her, but no weight settles onto him.

"Shizuo-san, my legs feel like j-jelly ... grape jelly. Mmm..."

"You ... nevermind."

At this point, he feels like he deserves a raise for listening to Tom's ridiculous suggestions. He stands, then bends down to scoop her up. Indeed, the way she flops into his arms does remind him of jelly - at least she wasn't lying.

After three flights of stairs, he reaches her door. "This is where I leave you," He mutters. "So you had better be able to stand up." He shifts her so her feet touch the ground, and she sways before deciding to lean her body up against her door. Nanase's hand fumbles around in her bag as he stands behind her, already lighting up a cigarette now that his hands are free.

"Shizuo-saaan, it's too hard! Please ... find keys..."

Her face smushes against her door even more, and he takes an especially deep drag before throwing it over the railing and sticking a hesitant hand in the messenger bag that's slung around her. It only takes him one try compared to her many attempts to grab the cool metal, and he brings them out and decides it'll just be easier if he unlocks it himself.

The door swings open, and he grabs the back of her shirt to prevent her from falling (yet again) from lack of anything to lean on; she staggers into him, looking up at him with those half-lidded eyes. "Eh, Shizuo-san..."

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." He grabs her once more and navigates her small place easily, finding her bedroom. He does his best to ignore the clothes strewn about the room - more specifically, bras and underwear that's mixed in with the mess.

Shizuo drops her into the bed, where she instantly curls up and falls asleep, shoes and all. "Tch. Not even a thanks..." Again, he sighs; as an afterthought, he brusquely brings up a sheet that's crumpled by her feet to her shoulders.

He turns and leaves the way he came, locking the door from the inside and closing it behind him. Bringing out his cellphone, he calls Tom so he can meet up with him again.

"Tom-san? ... Yeah. ... Don't even ask."

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys liked it! Also, I hope no one seemed OOC. If so, please let me know so I can fix it.

Please review! you guys have been on a roll for this story! It makes me want to weep anough tears of happiness to flood a small village. Thanks. :D


	4. four

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, and I apologize if this chapter seems rushed or blah. Hmm...

Thanks for all the nice reviews, you're the reason why I'm writing, ahah. Sorry if there's any grammatical errors, I don't feel like fine combing it right now – and I apologize if the change of tense bothers you... I tend to do that :x!

I don't own Durarara.

* * *

**chapter four**

"Think... I'm gonna... die..."

Those were the words that escaped Nanase's mouth before she suddenly lurched off of her bed and darted into the bathroom before ever so eloquently retching up her guts. After that was done and over with, she let out a heavy sigh and practically melted onto the cool tiled floor, hand over her eyes.

"Never drinking that much again. Ever."

She lay there for a few minutes before forcing herself to get back to bed. Collapsing onto the sheets, she glanced out the window. It was dark outside; she had probably messed up her sleeping cycle by getting stupidly drunk in the middle of the afternoon and falling asleep. She confirmed this once she blearily looked to the clock on her wall, seeing that it read three in the morning.

"At least I got home in one piece." And then, a thought occurred to her. "... How did I even get home?"

Ah, the mysteries of life.

The last thing she could recall was gulping down sake at that sushi bar. So how? She thought long and hard - which wasn't really that long, and her brain was mostly incapable of the hard part - and gave a shrug, deciding to just be grateful she somehow safely arrived home.

And then she remembered she was jobless; the growing suspicion she spent most of her money on sake didn't quite help.

She turned her head and sighed, then let out a moan at how the sudden action made her feel sick all over again. Really, there was only one thing she could say right now.

"... gross..."

* * *

"P-please! I promise I have the money in the bank! I... I just have to go get it!"

Shizuo's brow twitched as he stared down the man groveling on the sidewalk, Tom sighing behind him. People were gawking, their cellphones already out in hopes they'd catch him perform another superhuman feat. Others knew better and had quickly evacuated the area.

Just another day.

"For once," Tom stated, moving up to Shizuo's side, "I wish I knew if you people were telling the truth or not. It'd save a lot of time and effort on my part, you know."

"I've never told a lie in my life, I swear! Oh, please, I'll-!"

Shizuo grabbed a cigarette from his pack before lighting it, inhaling deeply. The man kept blubbering out excuses, and he was _this _close to taking a step forward and pummeling him-

"Shizuooo-san!"

Oh, no.

Brow twitching even more, he turned to see Nanase speedwalking towards them, waving frantically. As she got closer, Shizuo took note of her scraggly, hungover appearance. Her long dark hair was tied into a knotty side ponytail, which looked like it hadn't seen a comb in days. She wore a pair of denim overall shorts, the straps loose; a big tee shirt underneath was slipping off of her shoulder, and scuffed sneakers squeaked as she made her way over. Her bag was hitched over her shoulder, and she dug in it as she neared them.

"Shizuooo-san! Hey!" That time, both Tom and the client turned to stare at them.

"I'm working-"

"Oh? Really?" She questioned, halting in her search for a moment before resuming again. "Well, I'll be quick! Just, you see, I woke up this morning, and I _totally _couldn't remember how I got home! And then, I went back to sleep, and then when I woke up again, I remembered!" She cheered, still digging around. "Maybe not so much remembered... actually, my neighbor told me some scary blond guy carried me around the building, ahah! I figured that was you, right?"

"...Yes," He bit out, "Now what do you-"

"Here we go!" Nanase whipped her hand out of her bag, taking out a crumpled brown bag. "There's some pastries in there – you know, from that really good looking bakery on the other side of town!" She toed the sidewalk. "Erm, I might have had a few..."

Surprised, Shizuo blinked before taking the bag. He looked inside to see assorted cookies and such inside, albeit a bit crumbly. "...Thanks."

"No problem!" She chirped, before taking note of Tom and the man on the ground. "Hi! Tom-san, right?"

"...Right." Tom cleared his throat before turning back to the matter at hand. "So we'll get our payment by tomorrow, right? Since it's in your..." He looked at the man meaningfully, "...bank account, and all."

"Yes, of course! I promise!" He cried, throwing himself on the ground again.

Nanase peered at the man curiously. "Mm... Shizuo-san?" He merely grunted at her, watching the scene in front of him. "Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, but... well... you did help me out last night, and seeing as this is your job and all, and that's important, and-"

"Spit it out already."

"Well... he's lying. About having the money..."

Shizuo raised a brow before turning to look at her, then looked to the man on the ground. Nanase waved her hands in the air, seeing the scrutinizing look in his eyes.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but... but I just know these sort of things!" She fretted, hands moving to cup her cheeks. "Y-you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to, but... I very much doubt you'll get that money tomorrow..."

"H-Hey!" The man on the ground yelled, seeming to have caught on to what she was saying. "I have the money! I don't even know you!"

"True, but..." Nanase scratched her head, making some more of her hair fall out of the messy ponytail. This seemed to be one of those times where she should probably just keep her mouth shut, wasn't it?

"...Well, I've gotta go. Looking for a job and all," She grimaced. "I hope you like the sweets, Shizuo-san! Thanks again for last night, who knows where I'd be right now?" Giving a wave to Tom, she quickly ducked away before berating herself on not being able to keep her mouth shut. Shizuo stared at her retreating form for a moment, wondering what that had all been about.

"Tomorrow," Tom said to the man, before nodding at Shizuo. Hands in his pocket, he followed behind him.

* * *

The next day came, and with it, more excuses.

"T-the bank was closed?"

The man from yesterday whimpered out, hands already over his head in a defensive manner – however, shielding of any part usually had no effect on Shizuo's brute strength, and the man was soon flying across the street.

"What a waste of time..." Tom pinched the bridge of his nose before looking tiredly at Shizuo. "Ah, well. Next one on the list, I suppose."

The work day went just the same as the beginning of it, with excuses, pained wails, and many cigarettes being smoked. It was about the time Tom was about to dismiss him for the day when a thought suddenly struck him.

"Hey, Shizuo." He got a grunt in return, but Tom knew him well enough where he figured it was okay for him to continue. "That girl from yesterday. What was her name, again?"

It took him a moment to remember. "Nanase." He puffed on his cigarette. "Why?"

"Do you think it was just coincidence she knew the both of them were lying?" Tom mused, hand on his chin.

"Good guesses," Shizuo suggested in a bored tone. "Anyone could have been right. Why's it matter?"

"You remember where she lives?"

If it had been anyone else not answering his questions, Shizuo would have probably blown a gasket. "Yeah."

Tom glanced at his watch. "It's not too late. Go up there, will you-"

"For what?" He asked, unable to keep some of the incredulosity out of his voice.

"Tell her she has a job. If she passes the trial run, that is." Tom waved a hand and began walking away.

"Can she even tell up from down?" Shizuo grumbled out to his co-worker, "I don't think she can."

"See you tomorrow, Shizuo. Tell Nanase-san I'll see her then, too."

Cursing, he snapped the cigarette in his hand before setting on his way to the girl's apartment. Deep down, the blond felt a little bit of doubt at his response. He knew better than anyone else strange shit was always going down in Ikebukuro – hell, one his friends had no head. Would it really be so farfetched to believe someone could tell the truth from lies?

Some time later, he was in front of apartment 314. He knocked twice before the door swung open; Nanase appeared before him, blinking up at him. Crumbs seemed stuck around her mouth, and her shirt seemed to be stained with jelly. The culprit, he found, lay in her hand – a doughnut.

"Shizuo-san! What a surprise!" He merely nodded before pointedly looking inside, and she opened the door wider and stepped back. "Come in! Want a doughnut?" She gestured to a box stock full of the sweets, and he shook his head.

"So what brings you to me, Shizuo-san?" She asked, shoving the doughnut in her grip into her mouth.

Trying to ignore the rather atrocious way the girl ate, he replied back with, "Have you found a job yet?"

Immediately, the girl's whole body seemed to droop down. "No luck today. I was feeling rather pathetic, you see, and that's why I bought all these doughnuts – makes me feel a little better – but there's always tomorrow!" She sniffed before grabbing another one.

Easy enough, Shizuo figured. "Tomorrow. If you want a job, you'll come to the office tomorrow at nine."

Nanase gulped down the jelly doughnut before staring at him with what he _swore _were stars in her eyes. "You're giving me...? Does this mean...! I'm employed?"

He sighed. "...Yes." All he heard was a squeal of happiness before she barreled into him; if he wasn't Heiwajima Shizuo, he was sure she might squeeze him to death.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" She finally backed away, only to awkwardly brush crumbs off from his vest. Shizuo glanced down at his clothes in disdain and sighed. "So... where is this office? And what exactly am I doing, anyway? I mean, I'm not very scary, and that's what you're there for, right? And Tom-san seems to be a really good talker, and I'm really not-"

Well, if Tom was wrong in this situation, he was at least sure she could blab the money out of them.

* * *

It had to be a fluke.

Three days had passed since they'd brought Nanase to tag along with them. In those three days of what Tom had started calling her _detection skills_, she had pretty much passed the trial run. The ones she said were lying – by the next day, they would find out they were. The ones she'd declared honest had actually had money for them the next day; it beat him as to how she was able to see through the same teary-eyed explanations.

Tom, on the other hand, seemed to be relieved. It cut out a lot of time and trouble from fruitlessly hunting ones down that didn't have the money; and then when there were the ones who said they didn't have the money and _did, _she'd figure that out too, and they usually submitted under the unsaid threat of a beating from the one and only Heiwajima Shizuo.

"How do you do it?" Tom asked her curiously, sitting across from her in a booth at Russia Sushi. She was settled next to Shizuo, and though he didn't really appreciate the close proximity, he was at least grateful she wasn't trashed out of her mind again.

Nanase, in reply, merely fidgeted with her chopsticks. "Erm... I don't know ! Good intuition, ahah..." Thankfully, Simon interrupted by bringing the platters of food they ordered, and Nanase breathed a sigh of relief.

When she accepted the job, she had no idea what she'd be doing, though her first guess was an office worker. And though she needed the money (she had spent most of it on depression doughnuts, after all), she wasn't so sure if taking a job that exploited the secret she tried hard to keep hidden was a good idea.

But the two of them seemed to be okay people – Tom, on his part, was fairly honest. And Nanase discovered that when he wasn't being truthful, it was usually something to this effect: Smoothly dealing out threats, usually to frighten the clients' money out of their pockets, (even though Shizuo should have been enough, she had realized) only to see that he didn't mean said threats at all.

Shizuo, on the other hand...

He carried through with threats, not like he bothered to use them much – it seemed his doled out punishments came quickly like a sparking of a flame in a gas riddled environment, sudden and at any given moment. Nanase had never been one for violence, and his was a crazy version of it – but he was honest. In few days she'd been around him, he had yet to lie. He either always spoke his mind, or just didn't speak at all.

Really, the only problem she had was the fact she couldn't really tell them why. Wouldn't they think she was crazy? She could always just pass as an extra intuitive person, and that's what she had been going along with – but she would always have a part of her that was a _non-intuitive_ ditz, and she was sure they could see that.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

"... It smells." Shizuo abruptly said, fingers tightening on his chopsticks.

"Smells?" Nanase echoed, looking from him to Tom. Shizuo stood up quickly, slipping his sunglasses off of his face to tuck them into his vest. He stalked out of Russia Sushi, ignoring Simon's accented goodbyes; Tom got to his feet as well, motioning for her to do the same.

"Tom-san? What's-"

Tom merely threw some money down on the table before following Shizuo, Nanase behind him. "If you're going to be working with us, you should probably just see for yourself. This tends to happen a lot. I'd stay a good distance away, though."

"Ah... okay?" She replied, confused.

Once they were outside, Nanase stared in a strange sort of awe as she surveyed the surrounding area. It had been crowded before they had gone into the restaurant, and now it looked like a portion of a ghost town. Her eyes sought out Shizuo, who did _not _look happy at all; he was panting, hand clutching a street light.

"Iiiizaaayaaa..." He growled out, tossing the streetlight in his hand so he had it in a position where he looked as if he were about to throw a spear. Nanase followed the path that Shizuo's eyes were glaring, blinking when they landed on a tall, slender dark haired man. It was hard to distinguish any of his other features, except for his dark fur trimmed coat.

"What's going on, Tom-san? Will that guy be okay?" She pointed to the man – Izaya? - Shizuo was baring his teeth at, looking much the part of an angry, rabid dog.

Tom sighed. "Unfortunately for Shizuo, probably." Turning her attention back to the men, she realized they had starting fighting – well, more than they already had, she guessed.

The fight carried on, and they were quick – they seemed to be all over the place, and though Shizuo was fast, the streetlight wasn't, and the other man dodged easily. The scuffle began to get closer and closer to where they were standing, Shizuo directly in front of them, his back to her.

"Shizu-chan, I'm so sad to see you still haven't controlled that horrid anger problem you've had for so long!" The dark-haired man goaded, smirk now visible to her since they'd gotten closer. "Really, it breaks my heart!"

"Tom-san, he's bleeding," She noted worriedly, now able to see the blood stains seeping through his once crisp white shirt. "As strong as he is, that can't be good..."

"Shut the hell up, ya goddamn flea," Shizuo spit out, "Get the hell out of here before I kill you-"

"Shizuo-san!" Nanase interrupted, ignoring Tom's warnings and flouncing up to the blond. 'Good intuition' she may have had, but street smarts tended to be something she lacked in.

"Nanase-san, don't-" Tom yelled out, but she was already too close to the fray.

"You're bleeding, you should-!" She cried out, now a few feet behind him, and Shizuo's brow twitched.

"Get the hell away," He warned her, shooting her a look from over his shoulder. He didn't need anyone, much less the new girl, getting caught up in one of their fights. As annoying as she was, he'd rather not have to deal with hospital bills or her whining, or the guilt he was sure he'd feel afterwards.

"But..."

"Shizu-chan, who is this? You made a new friend and you didn't tell me?" Izaya pouted, pointing at the girl with the blade in his hand.

"She's no one," Shizuo tried, his attention now back on Izaya. "This is between you and me, don't forget that!"

Izaya ignored him, now looking her over interestedly; his eyes roved back to Shizuo's face, and he lowered his arm. "No one, hmm? Well, I suppose you wouldn't mind if this bystander _accidentally _got hurt-" As the last word left his mouth, his arm shot out, and the blade was suddenly flying straight for her face.

Her eyes widened, and she could only stare at the quickly nearing knife – when there was a sick sounding sort of thud, and she realized Shizuo's hand had flew out just as quickly as his opponent's. The knife was jammed straight through his palm, the pointed end dripping blood.

"Ah, how interesting!" Izaya crowed, and Nanase's breath escaped her in a huge breath.

"S-Shizuo..." She mumbled out, forgetting the suffix in her shock. What kind of terrible person could do something like that? Bystander or not, Shizuo or someone else entirely, something like that was unforgivable. He could've killed someone! They were knives, for crying out loud!

"Damn bastard..." Shizuo muttered, with what Nanase thought was even more anger bubbling beneath his quiet tone.

Knife still lodged in his hand, he jumped towards Izaya with his good hand outstretched in a fist – but all Izaya did was leap out of the way, darting about until he was right in front of her face. Nanase sputtered in surprise, taking steps back. He only leaned closer, white teeth glimmering at her in his grin.

"Who might you be? I wouldn't exactly call Shizu-chan a hero, though I'm sure he wishes he could be one," He laughed a bit, "Especially to try and bother saving you in one of our fights! That's quite amazing, considering his poor attention span!" Across the street, Shizuo was currently uprooting a street sign with his uninjured hand, clearly intending to throw it at Izaya.

"Well? I just want to be friends!" His smile widened, and Nanase didn't need any kind of quirk to know he was lying. "What's your name?"

Suddenly, he grabbed her and spun on his heel to avoid a street sign that was now wobbling in the ground it had impaled, where the two of them had been standing a few seconds ago.

"I just saved your life, didn't I?" He lilted, "So what's the name of Shizu-chan's mysterious friend?"

"I..." She snapped out of the haze, frowning at the man still holding onto her.

Sure, Shizuo was violent; but it seemed to be more of his body going on auto pilot, not pre-meditated actions like the man in front of her. And the few minutes she had seen them fight, she'd heard the man taunt him. How else was he supposed to react with an already short fuse? Not to mention that Shizuo had taken a knife through the hand for her – and the fact that everything about this man screamed shady and dishonest; she didn't like it one bit.

"Maybe you _did_ just now, but you almost ended it a few seconds ago!" As an afterthought, she added, "It's Masukawa Nanase, and I'd never be friends with a meanie like you! And let me go!" She wailed in a shrill voice, hand ready to try and land a smack on his face.

Before she could even try swinging her arm back, he flew to the side, releasing her, and she toddled back into Shizuo, who had sent the other man reeling. He tightened his fist, pushing her out of the way and stalking towards Izaya.

The dark haired man quickly got to his feet, however, and straightened out his jacket. "I guess it's time to leave, isn't it?" Nanase noticed with a bit of happiness that the side of his face was already starting to swell up.

"See you next time, Shizu-chan! And," His eyes, an eerie looking murky red as she'd seen up close, settled on her, "I'm looking forward to seeing you again, as well..." A smirk and a wave, and he was vaulting himself onto the low roof of a store and higher, until he was out of sight.

She watched Shizuo stare into the distance where the man had vanished, grumbling.

"... Need some glue."

* * *

A/N: So, I'm thinking of making this a Shizuo x OC x Izaya, considering the fact the story I planned to have be that... ended up totally not (see AM). This story's in an early enough stage, I think, where I could go either way... I'd be really interested to see what you guys want me to do, so please, don't be scared to shout out the opinions :)!

Like I said, I feel like most of this chapter was rather blah and lacking in something – but I promise the upcoming chapters will be at least a little more exciting, since this is really just to set the story.

I hope you guys liked it, and please review! Don't forget to tell me if you want this to be a triangle~ Thanks for reading. :)


	5. five

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, once more! I love you all~ And I suppose I'll make this a triangle, though I don't know exactly how well that'll turn out... Haha...

Please enjoy :)!

* * *

**chapter five**

Deep in thought, or as deep in thought as someone like her could be, Nanase trudged up the stairs to her apartment. The events from earlier kept replaying in her mind; the fight, Shizuo taking a knife in the hand (and being completely fine, which blew her away … though it really shouldn't have, considering she wasn't exactly normal), and the strange man.

"_A-are you okay? Who was that?" _ She had asked, trying to inspect Shizuo's hand.

He'd pulled it away from her to let it rest at his side, before saying, _"Damn flea, that's who..." _And completely disregarding her spoken concern.

Once work was over, she'd pestered Tom about it; she felt she should know this sort of thing if these fights of theirs really happened so much. _Orihara Izaya_, Tom told her, and that they used to go to school together. He also warned her that it'd be wise to never mention that name in front of Shizuo, lest irreversible damage be caused.

Nanase sighed before sticking the key in her door. She'd never gotten around to thanking Shizuo for-

"Hey there."

Letting out a strangled yelp, she spun around, hand over her beating chest. Izaya was there, leaning up against the railing, his hands shoved in his coat pockets. "Y-you!" Was all she managed, wide-eyed as she stared at him.

"Me, indeed," He hummed, pushing himself off the railing. "I'm truly sorry if I scared you!"

"Yeah, right," Nanase huffed, eyes darting down then back up. "Izaya, right? I don't know what you want, but … I-I'm going inside now." The keys were still in the door, and she quickly jiggled them around, glancing back at him. He was still there, staring at her like she was some sort of specimen.

"You're scared of me, but you're not scared of Shizu-chan? How odd," Izaya laughed, waltzing up and leaning dangerously close to her. She froze at his breath whispering across her ear, "What's someone like you doing around Shizu-chan, anyway?"

"That's none of your business!" She declared, trying to shrink herself closer to the door. The door, for its part, was being particularly hard to open. Nanase swore she'd tell the landlord about it first thing in the morning-

"I suppose it isn't," He sighed, backing away to a semi-comfortable distance. "However, that still doesn't change the fact that a barbarian like him doesn't frighten you. He could snap you in half if he really wanted to," Izaya stated, nonchalantly picking at a nail.

"How did you even find me? Were you... you were following me!" She shrilled, then turned her attention back to the door. "As soon as I get inside, I'm gonna call the police and tell them some super mean, creepy guy's stalking me-"

"Go ahead," Izaya smirked at her when she turned around again to look at him in disbelief. "It's not like I can't dig up enough blackmail to keep the police from doing anything, anyway."

As much as she wanted to call his bluff, she realized with horror that he was telling the truth. "... What do you want, then?" Perhaps if she aquiesced with whatever he wanted, he'd leave her alone?

"Just a few questions, that's all."

"Two! You get two questions!"

"Two," He agreed. After deciding he was telling the truth, she nodded warily, hand still on her doorknob. "Why aren't you scared of Shizu-chan like everyone else, hmm? I'm just dying to know!"

"... Shizuo-san is an honest person," She glared at him, which she imagined probably wasn't too intimidating, seeing as he was still smiling at her. "And maybe he is a little violent..." Izaya snorted at that, and she sniffed at him in disdain before continuing. "But I can tell he doesn't mean to be. Shizuo-san doesn't deliberately intend to hurt anyone-"

"Why, I do believe I can disprove that theory," He said dryly.

"-like you seem to do. You tried to stab me, for crying out loud!" She finished, still trying to give him the evil eye. "Is that all?"

"We agreed on two, didn't we? Are you hard of hearing as well as sight, seeing as you seem to be able to overlook his protozoan tendencies?"

"Of course not!" She pouted, though she had no clue what the word _protozoan _meant.

"How do you know Shizu-chan, then?"

Not wanting to get into the whole back story of Shizuo chasing off punks harrassing her on a flower delivery, or catching her from falling off a ladder, or hauling her drunk person home (at this point, she realized with some embarassment that he'd done a good amount of saving her, including the whole knife incident), she simply said, "We work together."

He rubbed his chin at that, tilting his head. "You? Work with debt collectors? You're as small as a bean," He laughed at her affronted look, "So what could you possibly help them out with?"

"That's more than two!" She sent a small prayer skywards when the key finally clicked in place and her door opened. "Now, if you don't mind-"

"Ah, ah, it's alright. I'll be seeing you around, anyway … don't worry, there will be plenty of time to get to know each other!" He began to walk away, throwing a wave over his shoulder.

"Just great," She grumbled, slamming the door shut – because when he had walked away, Nanase hadn't seen a single sign that said he was lying about his last words.

* * *

The next day, Izaya practically skipped his way into a small flower shop. He'd looked into this Masukawa Nanase, since she'd sparked a bit of his interest, and had seen that her last place of employment had been the tiny store.

Life had been rather boring and unexhilarating, save for his fights with Shizu-chan – but at least this was something to occupy his time. Besides that, he truly was curious as to what a sloppy looking girl like her was doing working with debt collectors. She looked like she couldn't hurt a fly, even if her life depended on it.

A short, balding man was snoring away at the counter, and Izaya rapped on the surface until the man woke up, startled. "A-ah, hello. Can I help you?" He asked, blinking sleep out of his eyes.

"I'd just like to ask a few questions about one of your previous employees," Izaya said, prodding at a bouquet. His eyes slid to the owner's. "Masukawa Nanase."

The owner straightened, frowning. "_That _girl? What did she do now?"

"Nothing, really," A few petals fell off, and Izaya turned back unapologetically to look at the glowering man. "I'm just visiting all her last places of employment. She's asked me for a job, and of course, I must check references." He smirked. "You don't seem to like her much."

The man snorted. "Damn girl ratted me out! Of course I'm not fond of her."

"Ratted you out, you say?"

The owner shifted before looking up at Izaya. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this... but if you're gonna hire that girl, you should probably know what you'll have to put up with."

"Yes, yes. Do go on," Izaya motioned, eyes narrowing. Really, this was too easy.

"I had some trouble with..." The man cleared his throat, "Debt collectors. Damn collectors are always asking for unreasonable amounts of money, I swear-" Izaya raised a brow. "-...anyhow, she told them I didn't have the money. I mean, I didn't, but it's not like the collectors knew that."

"So how did she know that?"

"Hell if I know," The man retorted, "She was always sort of strange, but that... she just seemed to _know _that..."

"Know that you were lying," Izaya finished for him, feeling a bit of excitement rise within.

"Right. I'd even say that maybe she'd been guessing... but she seemed damn sure of herself, the brat." He yawned. "Now, is that all? I've got important things to handle."

"Yes, that's all." He was about to turn away when some flowers caught his eye. "Masukawa-san, she's familiar with the meanings of flowers?"

"I'd hope so, or else I employed her for nothing," He said grumpily.

"Of course. Perhaps you could make me an arrangement? Flowers that are associated with 'truth'... please." Izaya smiled.

The owner wondered if this was some kind of joke, considering the conversation they just had, but money was money, and so he inwardly shrugged and got to work.

* * *

"I'll walk you home," Shizuo offered.

Nanase looked up at him in surprise. "Are you sure, Shizuo-san? I mean, we've been working all day. You don't have to..."

"It's late," The blond shrugged. "I don't mind."

He figured it wouldn't hurt. It wasn't like he had anything else to do that night, after all, and the girl hadn't been anything but nice, though she seemed a bit mentally slow. Thankfully, he hadn't caught her looking at his rear end, and that helped a lot with the awkwardness that was starting to fade away around her.

"Well... okay," She nodded. The walk home was silent, though she broke it a few minutes in. "Hey, Shizuo-san..."

"Shizuo's fine," He told her, flicking the ash off of his cigarette.

"Shizuo... Thanks for yesterday," She mumbled shyly. "Your hand... I imagine that must've hurt, haha... and thanks for all the other times, too. You've rescued me an awful lot for us only knowing each other such a short time..."

"It's nothing." He glanced at his hand, adorned with garishly bright Hello Kitty bandaids – courtesy of Nanase. On any other normal circumstance, he would've ripped them off or outright refused them, but she seemed to be honestly worried about him.

"_They were all I had," _Nanase had chuckled in apology, _"Glue isn't really the... proper treatment for that sort of thing..."_

Women rarely showed him any type of concern, save for Celty and that one woman from his childhood – at that last thought, he almost felt a bit guilty for relishing in her doting over him.

"Right," She giggled nervously. She wondered if maybe she should mention that Izaya had followed her to her apartment, but Tom's warning rung in her head, and she decided against it. She didn't want to sour his mood or make him explode, and they were almost at her apartment anyway.

The walk was still quiet the rest of the way home, and they were walking up the last flight of stairs when she spotted a bouquet lying on her doorstep.

"Flowers?" She mumbled, picking them up once she reached her door and looking at them curiously. She doubted she had any secret admirers, so where did they come from?

It had only two types of flowers in it - white chrysanthemums and bittersweet – both of which symbolized truth. Nanase may not have been the smartest girl out there, but she had at least gotten to know the meanings of flowers when she'd worked at the flower shop. A card was attached, and she unfolded it and began to read the small paper, temporarily forgetting Shizuo's presence.

_Nana-tan,_

_Here's to the start of a beautiful relationship!_

_P.S.: Tell Shizu-chan I wish his hand a speedy recovery!_

_Izaya_

Shizuo noticed the worried look on her face - almost scared - as she read the card that came with the bouquet, feeling a frown come over his face. "Something wrong?" He asked, tossing his cigarette off the other side of the railing.

"N-no!" She squeaked, quickly turning and clutching the flowers to her chest. "Thanks for walking me home, Shizuo. I-I'll see you tomorrow morning!"

He nodded and waited until she'd gotten inside, and he was about to walk away when he noticed the card had fallen to the ground. The blond debated with himself if reading it was an invasion of privacy, but the look of worry she had worn on her face had slightly concerned him and won over. He bent down to pick it up, reading the words -

Letting out a curse, he crumpled the card in his fist before lighting up another cigarette and stalking away.

* * *

A/N: Well, I hope that wasn't too lame, especially the scene with Izaya in the flower shop. Erm... anyway, please tell me what you think! Hope I kept everyone IC still. :x

Let me know if you're still on board for the triangle~ Thanks for reading!


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